


Steve Rogers Accepted Your Friend Request

by midnighttypewriter



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-07-15
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:59:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1867185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnighttypewriter/pseuds/midnighttypewriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky discovers Steve Rogers on Facebook and becomes interested in him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> This is based on [Poe](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Poe/pseuds/Poe)'s idea on [Tumblr](http://fromwastelands.tumblr.com/post/89355885280/i-sort-of-want-a-fic-where-bucky-stalks-steve-on).

The first time Bucky notices the name Steve Rogers, it's Natasha's new profile picture coming up on top of his Facebook feed. It's a black and white portrait of her and it looks awesome. Whoever drew it has captured not only Natasha's pretty face, but her dorky side as well. She is holding her TARDIS pendant between her teeth and seems to be winking right at Bucky. Her comment on the picture says: "Thanks to the amazingly talented @Steve Rogers." The tiny thumbs up icon underneath claims Steve Rogers liked the comment. 

"Looking great, Nat," Bucky types. 

"Don't call me Nat," she replies instantly.

He doesn't get the chance to respond or to explore who this Steve Rogers is, because right than a friend messages him and he is suddenly too busy making plans for Saturday.

 

The second time is on Natasha's Facebook again and it's Brock Rumlow's fault. Bucky met Natasha when he started learning Russian. She was trying to get rid of her American accent at that time and they made a great tandem pair, soon rambling at each other in two different language and turning heads of the people around. It took barely two weeks before Bucky felt like he was stuck with her, quite willingly, forever. Which was probably why Facebook publishes all Natasha-related posts and statuses towards the top of his feed.

"Everyone should be aware that @Natasha Romanoff is a bitch and a tease. Friendzoning slut." Brock Rumlow's status says and Bucky isn't even sure why he sees it, because he is certain he has never ever been friends, on Facebook or elsewhere, with that jerk. 

There is already a comment on it. From Steve Rogers, whose profile picture is only a photo of a pencil against paper. "Great job, Rumlow. If you wanted to make everyone know whom to avoid, you did a great job… This might be news to you, but Natasha, or any other woman, owes you nothing. Get over yourself."

Rumlow's reply is: "You sound like a nerd who doesn't get laid."

"Says the man who thinks guilt-tripping and shaming women is the way to get there," Steve Rogers says.

Bucky wonders whether he should say anything, but just then Natasha responds to the post: "Friend zone would imply we're friends." And when Bucky checks her profile, he sees her friend count went down by one.

 

"Do you want me to punch Rumlow for you?" he asks her later that week, when she is sitting across from him in a food court of the mall she works at. He could swear she is stealing his fries but can never actually see her do it.

She smirks. "I handled that already." 

Bucky nods and pushes the straw of her drink towards himself. As he sips from it, she grabs his burger and takes a huge bite off it. They stare at each other for a moment before Bucky shakes his head.

"Who is Steve Rogers?" he asks in Russian. 

Natasha arches an eyebrow at him and leans back in her chair. "A friend of a friend," she explains. "He hangs out with Sam, who's in my Psych 101. A great kid. Steve, I mean. Sam is, too, of course, but we're talking about Steve. Real talent." She is still using Steve's drawing as her profile picture. 

Bucky opens his mouth to ask some more questions, but a kid trips over an empty chair and crashes into their table and between scattered fries and soda dripping on their shoes, there's no time to inquire about a random stranger from the Facebook.

 

It's the third time that's the charm, of course, and once again it's Natasha's Facebook's fault. Bucky was supposed to be hanging out with Toro, a friend, but apparently friends don't come before dates anymore and so he is sulking and bored. He is lying on his stomach in his bed, his pillow rolled under his chin for support and his right index finger tapping at the screen of his iPad. His left arm lays on his desk chair a few feet away from him. 

Natasha is tagged in a picture. It's another drawing, this one a scene rather than a portrait. With her side to the artist, she is standing on the armrest of a sofa, on one leg, her body bent at the waist and her arms spread wide. Her boyfriend Clint is upside down on the sofa and while his knees are hooked over the backrest, his head is hanging off the seat. He is sticking his tongue out. In the bottom of the picture, slightly to the right, Steve Rogers has drawn the edge of his own sketchbook.

The picture makes Bucky smile and this time he decides to look at Steve's profile, too. He doesn't expect to see much, but as it turns out, Steve shares everything with the friends of friends. Not that there is much to share.

Steve Rogers is from New York, and he works in an unnamed café and as a freelance artist. His photo albums are almost exclusively his art or progress pictures of his work. There is a handful of photographs from his café stint, but Bucky can't find a single one of his face. He isn't sure why he is even curious about it, but he'd like to put a face to the name.

He scrolls a few days down Steve's timeline. Steve's latest status says: "My friends say I can't dance. I tell them I simply don't have the right partner." A beautiful redhead Margaret commented with: "I'm sorry I never got to teach you how to dance," and Steve liked her comment and replied: "One day. Tell me about London?" Margaret wrote back: "I'm sending you a novel-length letter."

Bucky feels like he's witnessing a tragic love story, or at least some part of it. Not in mood for that, he simply scrolls down Steve's Facebook to look at his art.

 

It becomes a weird habit. Often when Bucky finds himself feeling lonely or bored, he visits Steve's timeline. He admires Steve's drawings – from his rough sketches of buildings to completed illustrations, and every time he sees Steve add something to his folder of progress pictures of commissioned works, Bucky wonders if he could possibly ask Steve to draw something for him. Steve's art makes him happy, because it feels sincere and because everything he draws comes alive under his pencil. 

Steve's personal statuses are rare, but he often shares articles and it's obvious that he cares about art and social issues. Bucky ends up reading almost everything and questioning his own behavior. 

When one day, about three months into Bucky's newfound interest in traditional art and social justice, Steve announces his illustration for some story will appear in a literary magazine, Bucky buys a copy on his way to school even though he studies engineering and if he reads fiction, it's strictly genre stories with lots of actions and preferably aliens. The story doesn't pull him in, but he keeps the magazine in the top drawer of his desk with a piece of paper marking the page with Steve's art. 

It's a harmless thing, Bucky tells himself. It's not as if he is imagining he and Steve are friends, he is just a fan. He doesn't even know what Steve Rogers looks like and never tried to figure out where exactly he lives, even though it can't be really that far away from Bucky, who often recognizes the places Steve draws. If he sometimes scans his surrounding to catch a glimpse of someone sketching, that's only his natural curiosity. 

 

All changes on his birthday. He is tipsy but not really drunk, because he forgot that none of his friends really got along with each other and so the get together got cut short. Even so, his mind is buzzing.

He turns on his laptop and later, he will not know how he ended up on Steve Rogers' Facebook timeline. But he does end up there and he sees Steve tagged in a picture for the very first time. It's an Instagram shot of Steve sitting on a bench and drawing, and it's from too far away to really show any distinguishing features. He is short and blond, slender, perhaps even skinny.

Bucky stares at the photo for a few minutes.

Then he moves his cursor over to the options on the top of the page and sends Steve Rogers a friend request before he can think about it.

He turns off the laptop and stumbles into his bathroom, where he brushes his teeth and removes and cleans his prosthesis, the evening routine practiced so often that he can perform it even when he might not remember doing so when he wakes up.

And in the morning, he doesn't really think about any of it until he sees a little red number one by the messages icon and clicking on it reveals the name of the sender to be Steve Rogers. 

Bucky's heart makes an almost painful jump.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve is in the middle of a project, an art piece for a friend in the blogosphere to accompany a post, when he sees a friend request pop up. He doesn't get all that many requests from people he doesn't actually know and though his social circle grows by day, between his job at the café and all the volunteering and activism he involves himself with, he is good at remembering faces and names. 

He knows no James Barnes even though Facebook claims they have mutual friends. 

After confirming the friend request, because he sees no reason not to, he shoots the man a message: "Hey, sorry, do I know you?" Then he returns to work.

It isn't until the next morning that he gets a reply, but he hasn't been holding his breath anyway. 

"Not really. I saw your stuff on Natasha's FB."

That's an acceptable response, but Steve catches himself messaging Natasha. "Who's James Barnes?" 

He doesn't know how she does it, but her replies are always almost instantaneous. "Someone who once asked me who Steve Rogers was (◡‿◡✿)" Because of course, it wouldn't be Natasha if she gave him any straight-forward information.

Steve shakes his head to himself and tries again. "Is he a serial killer by any chance?"

"He's a sweetheart. No murderous tendencies as long as he's had at least six hours of sleep ;)"

Not entirely sure what to make of that, Steve rolls his eyes and opens his chat with James Barnes again. "So, Natasha says you're not a serial killer." He doesn't know whether to wait for an answer, but he sees James typing.

"I could be and just haven't killed anyone yet." 

Steve bites his lip and writes back. He starts the message several times and deletes it again before he settles on: "Are you looking to make me your first victim?" 

"Are you volunteering?"

"Pass. Usually it's not difficult to talk me into something dangerous, but I've too many projects going." He sends the message and his gaze catches the time and he winces. "I'm going to be late for work. But it was nice getting to know you, James."

"It's Bucky, actually."

Steve wonders how one gets "Bucky" from "James", but he figures it's none of his business to ask.

 

Bucky is staring at the chat window long after Steve is gone. Did he scare him away? He wasn't being creepy, he doesn't think, and he didn't get the chance to sound too eager.

He hadn't felt this way since he was a teenager. Talking to people usually comes easy to him and this time it did, too, only now he isn't sure whether he did well. Who knows how many chances he can get to make a good impression on Steve Rogers and for some reason, the man seems important.

 

Later, Steve looks through Bucky's profile and timeline. From Bucky's photo albums he learns that Bucky is much happier to pose for a camera than Steve is, and he has no reason not to be. Though he obviously prefers his right profile, his face looks handsome from all angles. Steve studies his features with artistic interest, noticing in particular the way Bucky's long lashes frame his eyes – and the way the blue of his irises pops in those few pictures where he is wearing eyeliner. 

In the past few weeks he has shared many of the same articles Steve has read. It warms him up to Bucky that Bucky seems to have the same opinions as Steve when it comes to Disney and Ubisoft laziness with female character animation, or Planned Parenthood and medical care in general. In between those articles, Bucky posts about engines and space exploration. His statuses are sometimes about not wanting to do assignments and sometimes they exist so that he can thank other people for a good time on a night out. 

When Steve posts a progress picture of his latest commissioned piece, Bucky likes it almost immediately. 

 

"What're your plans with Steve?" Natasha asks. She has her feet on Bucky's desk and is reclining in his desk chair while Bucky lies on his back on the floor and stares at the ceiling. It's too hot inside despite the fact that it's only mid-March, but he is too lazy to get up and go open the window. 

Natasha is supposed to be checking for consistency a paper he is writing, because her stylistics is better even though English isn't her first language, but she is either taking a break or actually done. Bucky doesn't ask, because if it's the latter he should get back to work himself.

"Um," he replies intelligently. 

"I heard you were smart and eloquent but I must have been misinformed," she says and Bucky realizes they are talking in Russian only when he is mid-sentence himself. 

"I just don't have any plan? I don't know, I just wanted to talk to him." 

She twists in the chair to look at him properly and suddenly he finds himself with his face full of her red hair as she bends over him. "And did you?" 

He shrugs. "I introduced myself. Asked him to be my victim."

Natasha's eyes widen and she laughs. She grabs Bucky's face and pulls him up to kiss his forehead. "You're an idiot," she mutters but her voice is overflowing with affection. Then she leans back into the backrest of the chair again. "I'm just asking because I happen to know he is single."

"I know," Bucky shrugs. "His Facebook says so." It also helpfully and boldly states that Steve likes both men and women. 

"So you looked."

"I don't even know what he looks like!"

"So? Ask him to meet you sometime. You don't have to drag him to Vegas to have Elvis declare you man and husband. Take him out, get to know him, figure out whether you're Drift compatible. I hear that that's what the dating process is all about." 

Bucky glares at her. "Why aren't you working on my homework?"

"Because I'm done. You can write your conclusion now." 

He groans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the response to the 1st chapter. The kudos, the comments, the subscriptions. It was all a little overwhelming in a really good way!


	3. Chapter 3

"Let's celebrate," Natasha says one day and throws her arm around Bucky's shoulders. 

"What are we celebrating?" he asks uncertainly but matches the stride she sets, because Natasha is difficult to argue with. 

"The sun came out today," she says with a shrug and shifts her arm to hook it through Bucky's good one. The height difference between them made the original position a little uncomfortable. "And I want a nice cup of coffee and good company." 

She steers him through the streets and out of his neighborhood but they don't walk for longer than a few minutes. Natasha talks the whole time up until she pushes Bucky through the door of a small independent café. It's almost empty save for the man behind the counter.

They take the corner table and the waiter makes his way over to them immediately. He's short and skinny and blond, and it's then that Bucky realizes what's going on. 

"Nat," the waiter, who has to be Steve Rogers, says before turning his gaze to Bucky. He stares for a moment before he nods. His eyes are blue and his lashes impossibly long. "Hey. What do I bring you?" His voice is much deeper than Bucky would have guessed. Where does he keep such a deep voice?

"The usual for me," Natasha says.

Bucky wants to sink into his seat and let it swallow him whole. He keeps his left arm firmly out of sight, unusually self-conscious. He doesn't like to show it off in pictures, but he is generally fine with it otherwise. Only now there're Steve's intense blue eyes on him and Bucky's all too aware of everything he could have done better about his appearance today. 

But he gathers his courage and charm, and leans forward, offering Steve the best of his smiles. He knows what that smile can do. "Surprise me," he says.

Steve nods and walks away. Bucky glares at Natasha and leans in closer and hisses into her ear: "I'll kill you. I'll murder you and no one will ever find you again."

She smiles at him sweetly and pats his knee.

It's not like he and Steve are complete strangers, but that probably only makes it worse. He shoots a message to Steve occasionally and Steve replies, polite and with a wicked sense of humor. Steve sometimes likes something Bucky posts and he has commented on Bucky's statuses perhaps twice. Yet there is something, some odd feeling in Bucky's chest that makes him not want to meet Steve in person. The Steve Rogers in his head is flawless and can do no wrong. He doesn't want that mental image ruined. 

Yet here he is, waiting for Steve to bring him coffee. What can Steve possibly think of it?

Steve comes back balancing a tray on his arm. He places a chocolate cake and a latté in front of Natasha before he turns to Bucky. "The pie is what I'd get myself," he says. "And the coffee is what I think you'd enjoy."

Bucky eyes the delicious-looking apple pie with admiration but it's the coffee he turns his attention to. He lifts a spoon and fishes for coffee under the hearty cream to take a careful sip. Steve is standing by the table and waits for Bucky's judgment, now holding the tray as a shield in front of himself.

The coffee is not perfect and Bucky realizes he wished it was. It's not perfect, but it's really good, strong with a shot of caramel. He smiles and licks the cream off the corner of his mouth. "You chose great," he says. 

Steve smiles back and Bucky's in deep trouble. He's fucked, really.

After that, Steve leaves Bucky and Natasha alone and Bucky can almost focus on the pie and the conversation, but his gaze keeps shifting to the man behind the counter. More than a few times he catches Steve looking right lack at them. At Bucky.

"I'm going to pay," Bucky says finally and gets up. Natasha doesn't protest.

"Hey," he says to Steve at the counter as he leans against it. "So I've been thinking."

"Yeah?" Steve looks at him with both eyebrows arched while getting the bill for Bucky.

"I like the profile pic you drew for Nat. You do commissions, right?"

"You know I do," Steve says. His expression is puzzled. 

"Could you maybe do one for me?"

Steve opens his mouth to reply but as Bucky's opening his wallet with one hand, he catches the toothpick holder with his elbow and it topples over. The toothpicks scatter everywhere.

"Shit, sorry," he curses as he catches the holder to prevent it from rolling of the counter. Then he reluctantly pulls his left hand out of his pocket to scoop the strewn toothpicks into a pile. If the stilted quality of his movements doesn't give his arm away, the hand poking out of the sleeve certainly does. His prosthesis is built for function, not aesthetics. The skin tone almost matches his own, the hand looks unnatural enough up close. 

Steve glances at it, acknowledges it, but doesn't stare. "Don't worry about it," he says and starts picking the toothpicks that fell between the clean glasses. "You were saying…?"

"I was thinking you could do one for me? A profile picture. If you have the time." Bucky is thrown off his game for a moment. "Not for free, of course."

Steve smiles and god, he needs to stop doing that because it messes with Bucky's chest a lot. "Sure. You can get pictures for me I could work from? Or you can sit for me if you'd like. We could meet to discuss the options." 

Bucky carefully refills the toothpick holder and hands Steve the money for his and Natasha's order. "I'd love that," he says and maybe he sounds a little too eager, but Steve's smile only grows. "Where do you want to meet? I know a place that serves a mean apple pie."

It startles a laugh out of Steve. "Not my workplace, please. There's a Starbucks just down the- Wait, I don't even know how far off your regular routes this is." 

"I live about fifteen minutes away. By foot. Starbucks's great."

Steve's face lights up. "Thursday? I have Thursdays free." 

Bucky has obligations regarding his internship in the morning on Thursday, but with some quick calculations he arrives at a suitable time. "How does 3PM sound?"

"Amazing." That's a faintest hint of pink to Steve's cheeks.

Bucky grins. "Okay."

"Okay," Steve agrees.

"Okay," Bucky says with a hint of a chuckle. He feels weirdly light-headed. 

Steve laughs. "I won't say it again. See you Thursday."

 

It's not like they agreed to have a date, Steve keeps telling his heart, which is already weak enough without the palpitations Bucky gave it. It still goes crazy whenever Steve thinks about it. It's the way the man looked at him. Steve isn't used to being looked at like he is something worth seeing. Especially not by handsome people with easy smiles.

It's that part of him, the part of him that knows how unappealing he is physically, that makes him type a message to Natasha. 

"Are you making that poor guy feel obliged to pay attention to me?"

As per usual, she replies instantly: "I only took him to the café. Everything else was just him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter to go! Thank you so much for all the positive feedback, you guys are amazing.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve is already outside Starbucks when Bucky gets there. He is standing with his hands in his pockets and his face turned towards the sun, eyes closed. He is wearing black skinny jeans, a t-shirt the print on which looks like it's been artfully streaked with watercolors, and poking from under the t-shirt's collar is a cross. 

"Hey," Bucky says as he walks up to him, and Steve opens his eyes and smiles.

"You're early," he says and moves towards the Starbucks' door. He casually holds it open for Bucky.

"So are you," Bucky says with an amused smile. His eyes linger on Steve's face rather than moving to the board bellow the counter. He knows what he's getting, anyway, but only a few days ago he didn't know what Steve looked like. Now he can't take his eyes off him. "What will you have?" he asks and takes out his wallet. "I'm paying."

"Aren't you a student? You should save your money," Steve says and purses his lips in concern and perhaps also with the unwillingness to let anyone pay for him. 

Bucky shrugs. "A student with paid internship with the Stark Industries and the promise of full-time employment when I graduate. And I still like with my folks. Money's not an issue."

Steve nods, but he is still hesitant. "Either way-"

"You can pay the next time," Bucky suggests, not wanting to flaunt his money. Maybe he shouldn't assume there'll be a next time, but he can hope and it makes Steve relax, even smile.

When they're ordering their drinks and Steve is very specific with his order, the barrista takes in his tiny frame with suspicion. "Are you sure? I think you could definitely use some sugar."

"Yeah?" Steve smiles politely but his eyes narrow a fraction. "My diabetes probably wouldn't agree with you."

The barrista looks as if he wants to say something but in the end he stays silent and Bucky's happy that's the case. He is ready to fight on Steve's behalf but it looks like Steve has it handled. 

"What do you do?" Steve asks once they're seated. "With the Stark Industries, I mean."

"Space exploration," Bucky says, searching for a response that doesn't breach his contract. "I'm working on a probe, currently."

Steve's face lights up with interest. "Tell me more?."

With a laugh, Bucky shakes his head. "I can't, I could get fired. Or worse; who knows, there might be a sniper watching me right now."

"We wouldn't want that." Steve's laugh is a wonderful sound. "I just want to learn more about you," Steve says. He has uncapped his coffee and is stirring it absent-mindedly. His gaze is on Bucky. "To give the art a soul."

"Is that it?" Bucky teases. He has trouble deciding whether to focus on Steve's long artist fingers, his lips, or his eyes. "And here I thought you just found me interesting."

"That too," Steve admits and his cheeks turn pink. He smiles and averts his eyes for a split second before turning his gaze back to Bucky again.

Bucky chews his lip for a moment before he opens the next topic. "Are you going to ask?"

"What about?"

Bucky nods his head towards his left side, suddenly a little self-conscious. 

Steve nods slowly. "Why… How did it happen?" 

From about half a dozen outrageous tales Bucky has to offer to curious strangers, he chooses the true story. "Motorbike accident. Eight years ago. Yes, I was too young to drive a motorbike."

To his surprise, Steve doesn't say how sorry he is. Instead, he chuckles and shakes his head and only then his features settle into a professional expression. "I can draw a few sketches and you'll choose what you'd like me to finish," he offers. 

"I really like your art," Bucky admits. They should be talking about the piece they're meeting for, but he just wants to talk to Steve forever and learn everything there is to learn about him. "How's it going, anyway? Have you been commissioned for any more illustrations?" The lit magazine is still in his desk at home. 

Steve blinks and Bucky realizes that Steve's Facebook mentioned that quite a while ago. "Not at the moment… Not in the last six months or so." Steve arches his eyebrow and Bucky feels his ears burn.

He almost hides his face before he starts explaining himself, stuttering slightly. "I just- I was a fan of your work for a while before, you know, doing anything about it." 

Steve chuckles and leans his head to one side, his eyes mischievous. "Don't worry about it. Are you still looking for someone to go to the Mets games with you?" The way he is smiling, Bucky wants to lean over the table and press their mouth together. 

Only, he has to focus on Steve's words. "In fact, yes. But I posted about that- Three months ago?" 

There's a shrug and an amused smile in response. Steve bumps their knees together under the table. "Wanted to make you feel less creepy. I looked at your posts after you friended me." 

Bucky's skin is vibrating where their bodies touched and he suddenly can't stop smiling.

 

Two months later, Bucky's profile picture is a drawing of him with stars and meteors behind him as he plants a flag in what could be the moon. When Steve sends him a request, Bucky accepts it immediately. They are sitting on Steve's sofa, Steve's legs across Bucky's lap.

Steve's status now reads: _Steve Rogers is in a relationship with James Barnes._

Natasha is the first one to like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not a story about falling in love; it's a story about the infatuation that comes before that. But you should know this:  
> \+ The first time Bucky and Steve kiss, it's the two of them looking at Steve's sketches together, their shoulders pressed against each other. Bucky looks at Steve to find him looking back and who kisses whom is lost in history; neither of them knows.  
> \+ Bucky moves in with Steve 6 months into their relationship. They photoblog the whole moving experience.  
> \+ Bucky and Steve's best friend Sam get along spectacularly, and soon the others start doubting whether introducing them was a good idea. They're quite the partners in crime.  
> \+ Bucky learns that Steve isn't, in fact, flawless, but that he is lovable both despite and for his flaws.  
> \+ During the first two years of their relationship, Bucky finds himself involved with three riots and countless fights, and ends up in a police hold up once. His employees aren't exactly impressed, but Steve charms everyone the first time Bucky brings him to a SI event. SI, in turn, impresses Steve with it's employee benefits and involvement with charity.  
> \+ Steve's artist breakthrough doesn't happen properly until a few years after, but then he has a solid career for many years to come. 
> 
> And that's it! Thank you for reading and commenting and general support. You're the best.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [Tumblr](http://midnighttypewriter.tumblr.com/), too!


End file.
